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STUVW Industries PESTLE analysis
STUVW Industries PESTLE analysis
Description of the assessment
In the module handbook you learnt that that for this coursework you have two assessments: an individual report based on a PESTLE analysis and an individual report focusing on HR practices. Both assessments will require you to assess the challenges of managing teams based in different countries. You will explore cultural differences as well as organisational strategy at a global or international level.
The task is outlined below:
STUVW Industries
STUVW Industries (STUVW) manufactures ball bearings, chassis components for large trucks and earthmoving parts, including over 1200 steel parts for the wholesale supplier market. Since the early 1940s the business has relied on ingenuity and creativity which has allowed it to grow into a modern state-of-the-art factory. It is a multimillion-pound business with clients spread across Europe. The company has for a long time managed with a smaller workforce of around 150 workers with approximately 10 per cent managers and office workers, 5 per cent supervisors, and the rest production workers. From the earlier years of the business until the present day, crafts workers are trained on the job as most work is completed by hand with a mix of old lathe technology and new computers that bend and shape steel materials. However, over the last few years, computers and robots have been increasing productivity by effectively reducing the need for workers by about 20 per cent.
The majority of workers are allocated to one of five production pods, which are designed around customer products such as ball bearings, steel parts, truck chassis, steel panels, and also earthmoving parts. The production of ball bearings and truck chassis is increasingly being taken over by robots which has increased productivity by 18 per cent within a short time frame. Over 60 per cent of the company’s workers, including all the engineers, are over 50 with a further 20 per cent over 60 years of age, which is the reason for looking to expand into new markets and diversify the skills in the workforce.
The company has managed to use the craft-based approach as the basis for marketing and promoting its business; it is a large part of their branding. They highlight the fact that their products are made with the utmost care and attention, many of them by hand, by a group of highly knowledgeable workers. As a family run business, the approach therefore is focused on caring for staff, providing a safe and enjoyable work environment, giving extra leave for personal circumstances in addition to statutory requirements; they want to maintain the existing family-based culture.
Your task: STUVW has appointed you as HR Consultant to assist them with a review of country and cultural factors they need to be aware of before starting to expand their business. You are required to select two countries of your choice (country A and country B) for STUVW to expand the business into. You have been asked to carry out a critical review of the main challenges that they may face using PESTLE and Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions. You will provide a report focusing on your analysis and recommendations based on the following:
- What are the major institutional and cultural differences in country A and country B? How do they compare to the culture of STUVW? Use relevant models and theory to support your discussion and analysis.
- What are the challenges and barriers of working in a multicultural managerial team comprising representatives from different countries and cultures? What aspects or factors should STUVW focus on?
This coursework assesses learning outcomes one (LO1):
- Critically evaluate approaches to managing the human resource on an international basis
Assessment Content
To answer these questions, you will be expected to:
- a) Develop an analysis about the major political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors with special emphasis on the institutional and cultural differences between country A and country B. This analysis will be based on a critical evaluation of the relevant literature about the theoretical debate on International HRM.
- b) Discuss the role of national cultures of both countries (A and B) on the transfer and/or creation of a new organisational culture
- d) Draw conclusions and your recommendation for which country would be the best option.
We will explore the content of the coursework together in a synchronous session in Weeks 1-5.
Assessment Rubric
The assessment rubric on the next page shows the complete criteria of the CW and how you will be assessed. We will explore the content of the rubric together in a synchronous session in Weeks 1-3. When the assessment is returned you will receive a digital version of the rubric showing how you performed against each criteria.
Legal and ethical scenarios
Legal and ethical scenarios
Select two of the scenarios. Support your responses with appropriate cases, laws, and other relevant examples by using at least one scholarly source from the SUO Library in addition to your textbook for each scenario. Do not copy the scenario text into the paper. Label the beginning of each scenario with the number you selected (e.g., Scenario 1). Cite your sources in APA format on a separate page. Submit your document to the Submissions Area by the due date assigned.
Scenario 1: Business Competition
BRG of Georgia and BARMAX, located in Illinois are the nation’s two largest providers of bar review materials and lectures that are designed to help students study and pass the bar exam for their state.
BARMAX began offering Georgia bar review course on a limited basis in 2006 and was in direct, and often intense, competition with BRG from 2007 to 2009 when the companies were the two main providers of bar review courses in Georgia. In early 2010, they entered into an agreement that gave BRG an exclusive license to market BARMAX materials in and to use its trade name Bar/Bri. The parties agreed that BARMAX would not compete with BRG in Georgia and that BRG would not compete with BARMAX outside of Georgia. Under the agreement, BARMAX received $100 per student enrolled by BRG and 40 percent of all revenues over $350. Immediately after the 2010 agreement, the price of BRG’s course was increased from $150 to more than $400.
Is their conduct illegal under federal antitrust laws?
Scenario 2: Administrative Agencies and Ethics
Brian Day is the vice president of new technology development at Future Electronics in Southaven Mississippi. One year ago, he filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to obtain approval for a new device using satellite technology. Brian met Jenice Brown at an electronics convention two months ago and invited her to his room at the hotel. The two parted ways. Brown worked as the director for licensing approval of new products at the FCC. Two weeks later, Brown wrote Day a letter on FCC letterhead stating, “It was nice to see your name cross my desk on your company’s application for approval of the new satellite device. I’d really like to see you again. Why don’t you come visit me in Washington this weekend?”
Day considered requesting that the petition be referred to another director at the FCC. However, he is concerned that the transfer would delay the approval process for at least a year. Day’s chief engineer advised that a key competitor plans to introduce a similar device on the market in three months.
Are there any legal or ethical barriers to relationships between corporate officers and members of administrative agencies involved in reviewing or regulating corporate activity?
What should Day do?
What would you advise Day to do if you were head of human resources or legal counsel for Future Electronics?
Scenario 3: International Law
Reliable Time Inc. imported a shipment of watches into the United States. The watches contained the mark “Lauren” which is a registered trademark owned by Ralph Lauren. U.S. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized the watches pursuant to the Tariff Act, which authorizes seizure of any “merchandise bearing a counterfeit mark.” Ralph Lauren did not make or sell watches at the time of the seizure. Reliable argued that because Ralph Lauren did not make watches at the time of the seizure, the watches it imported were not counterfeit, and the civil penalty imposed by CBP was unlawful. The government argued that the mark was counterfeit and that the Tariff Act does not require the owner of the registered mark to make the same type of goods as those bearing the offending mark.
Country Risk Analysis
Country Risk Analysis
Acting as a consultant for a leading multi-national consumer goods company, you are requested to prepare a briefing risk analysis report on the conditions for business in Romania.
The report should use the PESOE strategic frameworks (these should inform the structure and as such does not need to be described) to offer a perspective (as opposed to a retrospective) analysis of the risks and opportunities of operating in the Romanian market. The information regarding these issues will be gained from publicly available material. The report is focused on practice thus theory will at best inform rather than be the focus of work. The report should conclude with the development of a PESOE Diamond to assess the overall risk across the set criteria.